Prof. Dr. Petja Vassileva is a Professor of Ophthalmology at Sofia Medical University, head of University Eye Hospital “Akad. Pashev”, founder and head of the first Eye Bank in Bulgaria, founder and head of Bulgarian Eye Foundation “Sight for All”. She is an elected member of the Bulgarian Academyof Sciences. She is a member of the WHO Program Advisory Group on Blindness Prevention, Co-Chairperson for Europe of the International Agency for Prevention of Blindness (IAPB).Prof. Petja Vassileva’s main interests include innovative surgery, corneal transplantation, intraocular inflammation. She has published over 300 scientific articles and is author and co-author of 16 monographs and textbooks. Prof. Vassileva chairs scientific and advisory committees of national and international organizations, participates in numerous boards and associations, and is highly active in the ophthalmic community. She is founder and board member of South-East European Ophthalmologic Society (SEEOS) and president of the South-East Europe ARVO Chapter (SEE-ARVO). She has organized and chaired many ophthalmologic congresses, sessions and courses, both domestically and abroad. She was elected as a member of Academia Ophthalmologica Internationalis (AOI) in 2009 and as Honorary Member of the German Ophthalmological Society (DOG) in 2010. She is Honorary Member of the Russian and Ukraine Ophthalmologic Societies. For her long-life commitment to ophthalmology and prevention of blindness, she has received numerous honors, including: Certificates of Appreciation, IAPB (1999); Bulgarian Physician of the Year (2003) Gold Award; Certificate of Appreciation, International Eye Foundation (1991-2001); Honorary Award, Panhelenic Ophthalmologic Society (2004); Signum Laudis pro Scientiae Meritis (2006).